Hosted Kitchens plans six new sites it hopes will create hundreds of jobs

Food

Hosted Kitchen's planned sites would contain several so-called 'dark kitchens' set up solely for delivery via online ordering. Photo: Stock image/Depositphotos

Sean Pollock Email

September 04 2022 02:30 AM

Irish startup Hosted Kitchens has six new ‘dark kitchen’ hosting facilities across various planning stages that could indirectly create as many as 360 jobs when fully operational.

Dark kitchens are sites containing several kitchens set up solely for delivery via online ordering, with each kitchen allocated to a different restaurant brand.

Hosted Kitchens, founded in late 2020, has four dark kitchen facilities in for planning permission and two at the pre-planning stage. These include sites across Dublin, Belfast and Limerick.

Hosted Kitchens builds out multi-kitchen properties for other restaurants to rent and software to fulfil online orders.

The company has two dark kitchen facilities, in Cork and Dublin.

Sean Murray, founder and chief executive of Hosted Kitchens, said every conversation with restaurant owners was about managing costs, which is where he is hoping his services can help.

Murray said he had picked up some interesting trends and attitudes in the sector as cost pressures mount.

“The guys who operate takeaway delivery restaurants, who are good operators, are genuinely looking forward to a good winter,” he said.

“They see themselves as a good substitute to a restaurant or a night out. A lot of people are not going to be able to afford to go out as much for a night out come November, and if they can’t, what’s the next best thing?”

Should Hosted Kitchen get the six sites over the line, Murray said the sites could lead to the indirect creation of 360 jobs by its restaurant partners. Each of the facilities creates around 60 jobs.

The company is currently raising between €6m and €10m part equity, part debt. The company also plans to go from roughly 10 employees to 42 full-time in the next four years.

One of the sites Hosted has in for planning is part of a partnership with SuperValu owner Musgrave. The proposed site would be based at wholesaler Musgrave Marketplace’s unit in Sallynoggin, Co Dublin.

Murray said Hosted would be doing the facility’s building and management of the tenants.

The restaurants on site would have to buy a certain percentage of their goods from Musgrave to qualify to be a tenant.

“The idea is to create these delivery restaurants that have the lowest rent and food purchasing costs in the country.”

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Hosted Kitchens plans six new sites it hopes will create hundreds of jobs

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